The proponents of last year’s Measure 80 in Oregon – which would have legalized marijuana for adults but was narrowly defeated in the general election - have filed two new initiatives aimed at the 2014 ballot in an attempt to bring legalization to the state.
One of the two initiatives is modeled after Measure 80, with a couple changes designed to make the initiative more acceptable to voters: For example, Measure 80 allowed for the possession of an unlimited amount, whereas the newly-filed initiative sets a possession limit of 24 ounces, and private cultivation limit of 24 plants.
The 2nd measure is a constitutional amendment that legalizes cannabis. For this initiative to make the ballot, more signatures will be required, but if they’re collected and the proposal is approved, legalized marijuana would become a constitutional right in the State of Oregon, similar to Colorado’s Amendment 64.
Advocates will be required to collect 1,000 signatures for each proposal in order to receive an official ballot title from the state. After that initial hurdle, 87,213 signatures (or 116,284 for the constitutional amendment) will need to be collected for the measures to make the ballot.
According to recent polling, 57% of Oregon voters would approve a legalization measure similar to Measure 80 if the election was held today. Additional polling has found that 81% in Oregon believe that, despite their personal views, legalization is inevitable.
Source: The Joint Blog
